Ray Stone's Blog: A blog for everyone, page 2

Unearthed Paphos Treasures

One of the most amazing experiences that I have enjoyed so far on Cyprus is my visit to the ‘Tombs of Kings.’ This site covers several acres and is well preserved. It is a major attraction in Paphos and a significant necropolis carved out of solid rock. The five tombs differ in size and shape, and one of them takes the breath away. Complete with an open courtyard, several pillars and four rooms – a great place to stop and admire and wonder. After climbing down into this courtyard I wandered from one room to another and felt I was living in the past, hearing ancient voices whispering around the darkened room’s walls. I have been to this site twice and will go again this winter to take more photos without trying to avoid shooting tourists (no pun intended – perhaps). Next to the sea, I found this a perfect place to rest the feet and enjoy a sandwich and drink while sitting and enjoying the panoramic views.

Just down the shoreline next to a Roman fort that stands surrounded by a moat, there is another site – Paphos Mosaics. Experts agree that some of the most intact and beautiful ancient mosaics in the Mediterranean can be found here. The mosaics are part of a complex of Roman villas. Each mosaic depicts something different, whether an act of a Greek god or goddess, a blessing for the home, or a scene from a mythological story. An amphitheater sits to one side of the site, just below the lighthouse that overlooks the coast. Complete with a little restoration, it is easy to visualize Roman thespians acting out mythological plays. I spent ages in one villa that has been completely covered over by a roof and walked around on a raised walkway. The villa floor structure is complete from the kitchen to the baths to the dining and bedrooms. Each floor was covered in brilliant mosaics and outside I discovered the clay pipe system that was used to carry water into the villa.

Further inland, in the small town of Kouklla, the Temple of Aphrodite is laid out on one of the smaller sites. Once, this was the most significant place of Aphrodite worship in ancient Cyprus. The temple is near enough in total ruin, but some Hellenistic walls still remain. There are also several Roman pillars to be found and a walk around the site affords views across the distant sea. On a hot day this site is open without shelter, and so the tavern that is ideally situated just outside the entrance was a great place to cool off with a pint.

Cyprus has been governed by many different powers throughout its history dating back to prehistory. From Neolithic and Chalcolithic people to the Bronze Age that saw the Greeks arrive. The Hellenistic and Roman periods saw the Persian control come and go as Alexander planned to reconquer the East. The island was eventually converted to Christianity through the Apostles Paul and Barnabus. From the 15th century, the island came under the rule of the Ottomans but managed to retain its Hellenistic culture. Later, after Britain relinquished the island to independent rule, the Turks invaded and now illegally, rule a third of the island. All things considered, throughout its cultural and turbulent history, no matter who rules, Cyprus is a historical gem, and I am so pleased that the World Heritage organization is preserving treasures we must safeguard for our grandchildren and beyond.

I have only scratched the surface here and look forward to seeing and experiencing much more. What really excites me as a writer are the inspirational vibes that resonate from every nook and cranny of ancient walls and carvings. To think that two thousand years ago, other Roman men leaned on the pillar I am leaning on – or other artistic hands carefully created a fabulous mosaic that I can touch today. What great artists they were to carve and create with no modern tools.

For more information, go to http://www.cyprus-archaeology.org.uk/sites.htm

Shoreline Walking in Paphos

October turned out to be a very busy month. Apart from writing four serial chapters and starting a new short story, it was a month I spent looking for a new home in Cyprus and exploring some exciting archaeological dig sites run by the World Heritage organization. I had just qualified as a contributor to Shutterstock, one of the best stock photographic supplier concerns in the world. All of this would normally have given my ego a real boost but looking for a new home kept my feet firmly on the ground. A good friend had advised me, once she knew I was on the move, that the winter months were the best time to look for a new flat as rent rates lowered in off season periods, especially when some landlords wanted to attract long term renters. After several visits to a variety of properties, I found what I was looking for. I have a ground floor flat, nicely decorated and equipped, owned by an English lady. There is a swimming pool, and the whole enclosure of eight flats is clean and tidy.

I will be back to full working capacity soon and hopefully able to visit a few villages in the hills as well as some shoreline walking. I love walking during the winter months. It is far too hot in the summer to go walking very far. Someone made a comment that once I had taken pictures of the shore and the ancient ruins or local scenery, there would be nothing left to picture. In photography, there are always pictures to take. As in writing a series of detective stories that take place in New York, so pictures can be taken so many times of the same subject matter at different times of the year and from different angles. That’s why I love writing and photography. Down each of these creative paths, the stories and pictures are always changing in color, mood, and meaning. In writing, we try to create a picture in the reader’s mind while in photography, we try to tell a story the viewer can see through the photographer’s eyes.

Last year I was living up in the hills, and there was little to do unless I drove down to the coast. Now I can walk to the shore and Paphos harbor where there are several cafés open for a welcome ‘tourist free’ break. I love the summer season and most of the tourists, but during winter, even though I have only been here for two years, I get to reclaim a nearly deserted shoreline as my own. Unlike Malta, where the place is always busy, noisy, and cooking everything with chips, on Cyprus, one can enjoy a quiet meal of Greek origin and a bottle of excellent Cypriot wine.

Walking the shoreline here is an invigorating experience. The views across several bays and peninsulas can be stunning, and at this time of the year, with dark clouds on the horizon and white crested waves crashing into the rocks, my camera will be at the ready to capture some great moments.

Surrounded by many archaeological sites of ancient Greece and the Roman and Byzantine Empires, I cannot stop wondering what life was really like here all those years ago and marvel at the building skills and artistic treasures such as mosaic floors that were created. Next month I’m going to start showing you around some of these sites, one each month. I hope you’ll join me.

Island In The Sun – Cyprus

Five years ago I moved from Washington State, USA, to Malta and fell in love with the place. Although not what I would call a beautiful island, Malta is so alive and vibrant and steeped in so much culture and history that one almost trips over ruins and buildings, from ancient Greece, Byzantine, Ottoman, and recently, those of British influence. Despite this glut of historical wonder, I became disappointed and disillusioned with the modern Maltese and their corrupt government bureaucracy. The infrastructure cannot support the traffic and travel from one part of the island to another, albeit a short distance, is a nightmare. I don’t want to be a grouch, but the noisy nightclubs and junk food catering for holidaymakers alone was enough to influence me to move once more.

I looked further afield and decided to visit Cyprus again. It had been 1974 when I first landed there for a holiday, and a good friend was already living there after moving from Malta. Like Malta, Cyprus history goes back thousands of years and treasures such as mosaic floors and Roman villas abound for the visitor to explore. This is a much bigger island, and although annexed into the Turkish north and Greek Cypriot south, there is a lot to see and do, and travel to the north is unrestricted. The biggest surprise here is the roads and traffic. The centre of towns like Paphos can get a little busy, particularly in the mornings but come the afternoon, it almost feels like a quiet drive on Sunday afternoon. A lot of business closes at 2.00pm and reopens at 5.00pm or not at all. Siesta here, particularly during boiling hot summer, is taken seriously except those ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen.’

The food here is excellent, especially salad and root crops, and not forgetting the thousands of bananas and other plentiful fruits growing here. Although a member of the EU, Cyprus cannot sell bananas to other EU countries because they are too small, even though they are sweet and are tastier than the larger varieties sold in Europe. That’s the EU for you. Goats provide a variety of cheese and milk, and of course, there are many different wines from vineyards, large and small, that are dotted all over the island.

Cyprus is 180 miles long and 62 miles wide with a population of 1.2 million. It boasts a range of mountains, the tallest being Olympus which is capped with snow in winter. The Troodos forest boasts conifers and broadleaved trees such as Pinus brutia. This is, in the main, a beautiful island with scenery that can be breathtaking. https://www.google.com.cy/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=size%20of%20cyprus

I could say I’m pleased to be away from Brexit in Cyprus but I can’t. Brexit affects all Europeans one way or another. The British government have agreements with Cyprus and other EU countries regarding National Health and residential status. How this will be affected by Britain leaving the EU remains to be seen. I have two years before the final ‘goodbye’ so meantime I plan to continue enjoying the pleasant company of these friendly Cypriots, and all that this island has to offer. One thing that will most certainly not change is my 4.00pm cup of tea and custard cream.

ISLAND IN THE SUN – CYPRUS

Five years ago I moved from Washington State, USA, to Malta and fell in love with the place. Although not what I would call a beautiful island, Malta is so alive and vibrant and steeped in so much culture and history that one almost trips over ruins and buildings, from ancient Greece, Byzantine, Ottoman, and recently, those of British influence. Despite this glut of historical wonder, I became disappointed and disillusioned with the modern Maltese and their corrupt government bureaucracy. The infrastructure cannot support the traffic and travel from one part of the island to another, albeit a short distance, is a nightmare. I don’t want to be a grouch, but the noisy nightclubs and junk food catering for holidaymakers alone was enough to influence me to move once more.

I looked further afield and decided to visit Cyprus again. It had been 1974 when I first landed there for a holiday, and a good friend was already living there after moving from Malta. Like Malta, Cyprus history goes back thousands of years and treasures such as mosaic floors and Roman villas abound for the visitor to explore. This is a much bigger island, and although annexed into the Turkish north and Greek Cypriot south, there is a lot to see and do, and travel to the north is unrestricted. The biggest surprise here is the roads and traffic. The centre of towns like Paphos can get a little busy, particularly in the mornings but come the afternoon, it almost feels like a quiet drive on Sunday afternoon. A lot of business closes at 2.00pm and reopens at 5.00pm or not at all. Siesta here, particularly during boiling hot summer, is taken seriously except those ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen.’

The food here is excellent, especially salad and root crops, and not forgetting the thousands of bananas and other plentiful fruits growing here. Although a member of the EU, Cyprus cannot sell bananas to other EU countries because they are too small, even though they are sweet and are tastier than the larger varieties sold in Europe. That’s the EU for you. Goats provide a variety of cheese and milk, and of course, there are many different wines from vineyards, large and small, that are dotted all over the island.

Cyprus is 180 miles long and 62 miles wide with a population of 1.2 million. It boasts a range of mountains, the tallest being Olympus which is capped with snow in winter. The Troodos forest boasts conifers and broadleaved trees such as Pinus brutia. This is, in the main, a beautiful island with scenery that can be breathtaking. https://www.google.com.cy/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=size%20of%20cyprus

I could say I’m pleased to be away from Brexit in Cyprus but I can’t. Brexit affects all Europeans one way or another. The British government have agreements with Cyprus and other EU countries regarding National Health and residential status. How this will be affected by Britain leaving the EU remains to be seen. I have two years before the final ‘goodbye’ so meantime I plan to continue enjoying the pleasant company of these friendly Cypriots, and all that this island has to offer. One thing that will most certainly not change is my 4.00pm cup of tea and custard cream.

Leaving The Road Behind

There comes a time when slowing down opens up a whole new world around us. From the age of eighteen, I have driven a succession of cars and trucks, only two of which were new. Each one brought a new experience; each one better than the last one I would tell myself. Only one thing was certain. They were all money pits that gobbled up at least a quarter of my entire income.

In my young and silly era, I painted an offset white line across the roof and back of an old Ford Anglia, trying to fool admirers that it was fast, and stuck a green sun visor across the top of the windshield. It looked racey and attracted the girls, right? No, they laughed as I cruised by with clouds of smoke billowing from the exhaust. Then I grew up a little and tried converting a Bedford van into a caravanette complete with a bed. That got as far as a piece of plywood bolted to the wheelhouse on one side with a makeshift curtain behind the driver’s seat. A passion wagon I thought. That ended with a blown engine when half converted.

Over the years, there has been a string of vehicles that I had love-hate relationships with. I drove from A to B for all of 52 years and never stopped to realize what I had missed – my surroundings.

Moving to Malta five years ago taught me a couple of things about driving.  First, the Maltese are dangerous drivers, and two, on an island sixteen miles long and eight miles wide the population drive in fairground bumper style with thumbs making a permanent impression on the horn button. I decided not to take the risk but to become a pedestrian, although that also meant risking life and limb.

Apart from public transport, I walked everywhere and started exploring side streets and shop windows, historic sites, and local municipal offices. This while going through the long and painful process of permanent residency.  I made a point of taking photos and enjoying café lounging. Walking became a pastime and without giving it much thought, I started to see my surroundings in sharp focus instead as a nondescript blur through a windshield.

Two years later I had a relapse. I moved to Cyprus, a much bigger island, and bought a car. The moment I purchased it, I knew I was going to spend money. Tax, insurance, M.O.T, petrol, maintenance. It was convenient, but soon the bills started mounting. Service, bodywork repairs (not my doing), brakes and tires, even carwash. I decided it was time to call a halt to it all and sold the car. $15 a day for a hire car, when required, is a great deal. Now I am back to walking and taking in the scenery and finding time to talk to people instead of swearing at them from my window as they do something silly and slow me down as I drive from A to B.

Lines of trees and brightly painted buildings blending into a kaleidoscope of rainbow color and fuzzy scenery are a thing of the past. A whole new world has opened up in front of me as my feet, instead of an accelerator, drive me through a new and exciting experience.

Trainers are cheaper than tires.

LEAVING THE ROAD BEHIND

There comes a time when slowing down opens up a whole new world around us. From the age of eighteen, I have driven a succession of cars and trucks, only two of which were new. Each one brought a new experience; each one better than the last one I would tell myself. Only one thing was certain. They were all money pits that gobbled up at least a quarter of my entire income.

In my young and silly era, I painted an offset white line across the roof and back of an old Ford Anglia, trying to fool admirers that it was fast, and stuck a green sun visor across the top of the windshield. It looked racey and attracted the girls, right? No, they laughed as I cruised by with clouds of smoke billowing from the exhaust. Then I grew up a little and tried converting a Bedford van into a caravanette complete with a bed. That got as far as a piece of plywood bolted to the wheelhouse on one side with a makeshift curtain behind the driver’s seat. A passion wagon I thought. That ended with a blown engine when half converted.

Over the years, there has been a string of vehicles that I had love-hate relationships with. I drove from A to B for all of 52 years and never stopped to realize what I had missed – my surroundings.

Moving to Malta five years ago taught me a couple of things about driving.  First, the Maltese are dangerous drivers, and two, on an island sixteen miles long and eight miles wide the population drive in fairground bumper style with thumbs making a permanent impression on the horn button. I decided not to take the risk but to become a pedestrian, although that also meant risking life and limb.

Apart from public transport, I walked everywhere and started exploring side streets and shop windows, historic sites, and local municipal offices. This while going through the long and painful process of permanent residency.  I made a point of taking photos and enjoying café lounging. Walking became a pastime and without giving it much thought, I started to see my surroundings in sharp focus instead as a nondescript blur through a windshield.

Two years later I had a relapse. I moved to Cyprus, a much bigger island, and bought a car. The moment I purchased it, I knew I was going to spend money. Tax, insurance, M.O.T, petrol, maintenance. It was convenient, but soon the bills started mounting. Service, bodywork repairs (not my doing), brakes and tires, even carwash. I decided it was time to call a halt to it all and sold the car. $15 a day for a hire car, when required, is a great deal. Now I am back to walking and taking in the scenery and finding time to talk to people instead of swearing at them from my window as they do something silly and slow me down as I drive from A to B.

Lines of trees and brightly painted buildings blending into a kaleidoscope of rainbow color and fuzzy scenery are a thing of the past. A whole new world has opened up in front of me as my feet, instead of an accelerator, drive me through a new and exciting experience.

Trainers are cheaper than tires.

Leaving the road behind

There comes a time when slowing down opens up a whole new world around us. From the age of eighteen, I have driven a succession of cars and trucks, only two of which were new. Each one brought a new experience; each one better than the last one I would tell myself. Only one thing was certain. They were all money pits that gobbled up at least a quarter of my entire income.

In my young and silly era, I painted an offset white line across the roof and back of an old Ford Anglia, trying to fool admirers that it was fast, and stuck a green sun visor across the top of the windshield. It looked racey and attracted the girls, right? No, they laughed as I cruised by with clouds of smoke billowing from the exhaust. Then I grew up a little and tried converting a Bedford van into a caravanette complete with a bed. That got as far as a piece of plywood bolted to the wheelhouse on one side with a makeshift curtain behind the driver’s seat. A passion wagon I thought. That ended with a blown engine when half converted.

Over the years, there has been a string of vehicles that I had love-hate relationships with. I drove from A to B for all of 52 years and never stopped to realize what I had missed – my surroundings.

Moving to Malta five years ago taught me a couple of things about driving.  First, the Maltese are dangerous drivers, and two, on an island sixteen miles long and eight miles wide the population drive in fairground bumper style with thumbs making a permanent impression on the horn button. I decided not to take the risk but to become a pedestrian, although that also meant risking life and limb.

Apart from public transport, I walked everywhere and started exploring side streets and shop windows, historic sites, and local municipal offices. This while going through the long and painful process of permanent residency.  I made a point of taking photos and enjoying café lounging. Walking became a pastime and without giving it much thought, I started to see my surroundings in sharp focus instead as a nondescript blur through a windshield.

Two years later I had a relapse. I moved to Cyprus, a much bigger island, and bought a car. The moment I purchased it, I knew I was going to spend money. Tax, insurance, M.O.T, petrol, maintenance. It was convenient, but soon the bills started mounting. Service, bodywork repairs (not my doing), brakes and tires, even carwash. I decided it was time to call a halt to it all and sold the car. $15 a day for a hire car, when required, is a great deal. Now I am back to walking and taking in the scenery and finding time to talk to people instead of swearing at them from my window as they do something silly and slow me down as I drive from A to B.

Lines of trees and brightly painted buildings blending into a kaleidoscope of rainbow color and fuzzy scenery are a thing of the past. A whole new world has opened up in front of me as my feet, instead of an accelerator, drive me through a new and exciting experience.

Trainers are cheaper than tires.

Being A Serial Groupie

Every picture tells a multitude of stories. No two writers will create the same tale. Yet when ten writers decide to write a serial together, despite each writing a chapter of their own creation without having any outlined plot, the result is a terrific piece of work. There’s something about writing serial chapters that appeal to those who have a story to tell. I have been writing for quite a few years now and was instrumental in starting a serial group on another creative writing website that is today enjoying good membership and running four serials consistently. The most important thing to remember is that creative writing is fun. The more you take part, the better you become with grammar, story construction, description, and dialogue in many genres and different tense. I have watched many writers improve in all the various aspects of writing as they progressed from month to month. All this without a college course or personal trainer or mentor, not that I would discourage that. It has amazed me how much writers’ enthusiasm shone through their work and how they got to know one another to gel as a group, both on and socially away from the site. Five writers’ I know who started out working on serial chapters have this year published their first book.

I love writing and have four novels and a book of poetry to my credit, but always I return to what I enjoy as a diversion, honing my skills in five to seven hundred word chapters, never knowing what I am going to write until I see the previous writers work. It is fun, and it has kept me in shape creatively. Sometimes, reading a chapter that I wrote way back when, I am pleasantly surprised and ask myself, ‘Did I write that?’

Although writers’ will often say they love writing and want the world to read them, the real reason is that we write for our satisfaction first without thinking about an audience. It is not until we have finished that we are fed up with one edit after another until the final draft and publication. Until that moment, the work is all ours, and we live inside the pages with the cast until the last line. Once there, it is time to move on to the next story, and that is when we hope an audience will read the one we just finished.

This is why serial writing is so important. It is an excellent stepping stone toward a first novel or short story. It is also the way to encourage the young to become more literate. FanFiction is sweeping across the literary world right now. Short stories and latest chapters written into forums by young adults who want their favorite TV or film heroes and heroines to get involved in new escapades. Young writers are the future, and whether we hate electronic books and website reading or not, modern technology has encouraged the young writer to use the computer instead of the library. I want all age groups to discover the joy of writing and have fun doing it. Remember, your audience is worldwide, and your name is on your work.

BEING A SERIAL GROUPIE

Every picture tells a multitude of stories. No two writers will create the same tale. Yet when ten writers decide to write a serial together, despite each writing a chapter of their own creation without having any outlined plot, the result is a terrific piece of work. There’s something about writing serial chapters that appeal to those who have a story to tell. I have been writing for quite a few years now and was instrumental in starting a serial group on another creative writing website that is today enjoying good membership and running four serials consistently. The most important thing to remember is that creative writing is fun. The more you take part, the better you become with grammar, story construction, description, and dialogue in many genres and different tense. I have watched many writers improve in all the various aspects of writing as they progressed from month to month. All this without a college course or personal trainer or mentor, not that I would discourage that. It has amazed me how much writers’ enthusiasm shone through their work and how they got to know one another to gel as a group, both on and socially away from the site. Five writers’ I know who started out working on serial chapters have this year published their first book.

I love writing and have four novels and a book of poetry to my credit, but always I return to what I enjoy as a diversion, honing my skills in five to seven hundred word chapters, never knowing what I am going to write until I see the previous writers work. It is fun, and it has kept me in shape creatively. Sometimes, reading a chapter that I wrote way back when, I am pleasantly surprised and ask myself, ‘Did I write that?’

Although writers’ will often say they love writing and want the world to read them, the real reason is that we write for our satisfaction first without thinking about an audience. It is not until we have finished that we are fed up with one edit after another until the final draft and publication. Until that moment, the work is all ours, and we live inside the pages with the cast until the last line. Once there, it is time to move on to the next story, and that is when we hope an audience will read the one we just finished.

This is why serial writing is so important. It is an excellent stepping stone toward a first novel or short story. It is also the way to encourage the young to become more literate. FanFiction is sweeping across the literary world right now. Short stories and latest chapters written into forums by young adults who want their favorite TV or film heroes and heroines to get involved in new escapades. Young writers are the future, and whether we hate electronic books and website reading or not, modern technology has encouraged the young writer to use the computer instead of the library. I want all age groups to discover the joy of writing and have fun doing it. Remember, your audience is worldwide, and your name is on your work.

Being a serial groupie

Every picture tells a multitude of stories. No two writers will create the same tale. Yet when ten writers decide to write a serial together, despite each writing a chapter of their own creation without having any outlined plot, the result is a terrific piece of work. There’s something about writing serial chapters that appeal to those who have a story to tell. I have been writing for quite a few years now and was instrumental in starting a serial group on another creative writing website that is today enjoying good membership and running four serials consistently. The most important thing to remember is that creative writing is fun. The more you take part, the better you become with grammar, story construction, description, and dialogue in many genres and different tense. I have watched many writers improve in all the various aspects of writing as they progressed from month to month. All this without a college course or personal trainer or mentor, not that I would discourage that. It has amazed me how much writers’ enthusiasm shone through their work and how they got to know one another to gel as a group, both on and socially away from the site. Five writers’ I know who started out working on serial chapters have this year published their first book.

I love writing and have four novels and a book of poetry to my credit, but always I return to what I enjoy as a diversion, honing my skills in five to seven hundred word chapters, never knowing what I am going to write until I see the previous writers work. It is fun, and it has kept me in shape creatively. Sometimes, reading a chapter that I wrote way back when, I am pleasantly surprised and ask myself, ‘Did I write that?’

Although writers’ will often say they love writing and want the world to read them, the real reason is that we write for our satisfaction first without thinking about an audience. It is not until we have finished that we are fed up with one edit after another until the final draft and publication. Until that moment, the work is all ours, and we live inside the pages with the cast until the last line. Once there, it is time to move on to the next story, and that is when we hope an audience will read the one we just finished.

This is why serial writing is so important. It is an excellent stepping stone toward a first novel or short story. It is also the way to encourage the young to become more literate. FanFiction is sweeping across the literary world right now. Short stories and latest chapters written into forums by young adults who want their favorite TV or film heroes and heroines to get involved in new escapades. Young writers are the future, and whether we hate electronic books and website reading or not, modern technology has encouraged the young writer to use the computer instead of the library. I want all age groups to discover the joy of writing and have fun doing it. Remember, your audience is worldwide, and your name is on your work.